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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · pop · object · spell · mine · firm · rash · cold

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rash — hasty
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cold — an illness
  8. content — happy
  9. object — an aim
  10. spell — magic
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. firm — a company
  14. spell — letters
  15. object — a thing
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. firm — decided
  18. firm — steady
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pop — music
  21. object — to protest
  22. rash — a series
  23. pop — soda
  24. spell — a short time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com